


liftgate

by iRockYourSocks



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: A tale told through magazines and other gossip trash, Drabble Series, F/M, Modern AU, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Tabloid AU, Zutara Week 2020
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2020-07-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:47:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25599802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iRockYourSocks/pseuds/iRockYourSocks
Summary: the secret prince, a lavish party, and the throttling seen around the world.ORdon't you know that some shit's going to go down when there's a billion dollars on an elevator?
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 52





	1. Panda Lily Weekly

**Author's Note:**

> hello all~happy zutara week!
> 
> I actually had this story half written and then I ended up losing it...so here it is, rewritten in a slightly different format. I don't know if y'all get the reference, but this is inspired by an real life pop culture incident. Lolol.
> 
> I hope all is well with everyone! I just had a baby so this is my maternity leave gift to you :)
> 
> First chapter is for Day 1: Reunion  
> Also this is not a cheating fic!

> B R E A K I N G N E W S

“The extremely private Fire Nation Royal family has begun to show some cracks in their façade!”

“The Bei Fong family’s annual Zaofu Diamond Ball, held as a charity event celebrating artistry, is typically THE fashion event of the year outside of the biannual fashion week shows held in Ba Sing Se and in recent years, the Imperial Caldera City. 

We have all seen the snaps online, the glitz and the glamor of the event was magnificent! All of the movers and shakers were in attendance wearing their excessive best. The event attracted Northern Water Tribe Royalty, the children of the Southern Water Tribe head of state, and even the younger generation of Fire Nation Royalty.

The Fire Nation, who up until thirteen years ago had shuttered themselves away from the world behind their gilded gates, have been trying to reacquaint themselves with the modern, outside world.

Her Royal Highness Princess Azula, daughter of the imprisoned Prince Ozai, has been seen at numerous fashion events since she turned eighteen four years ago. At this point, she is a permanent fixture at the front row.

Her older brother, HRH Prince Zuko, became Crown Prince after the untimely death of Fire Lord Iroh’s own son, Prince Lu Ten, in an automotive accident. Details on Prince Lu Ten’s death are mostly nonexistent as the Fire Lord, newly crowned at the time, opened up the nation after his death.

Prince Zuko has not been photographed or seen in public in almost twelve years. Allegations of abuse and misconduct have swarmed around the young prince for years, but the family insists that he just enjoys his privacy.

Fire Nation history aside, this is significant because HRH Prince Zuko made an appearance with his sister and a noblewoman of the court, thought to be a friend to the princess and the intended of the prince, at the ZDB. The public has not formally seen Prince Zuko outside of blurry paparazzi photographs since he was around twelve or thirteen years of age. The Prince wore a mask, which covered the left half of his face, matched his tasteful suit to that of the dress worn by the Lady Mai.

Princess Azula looked coifed and perfectly put together, as per usual.

My reports say that Prince Zuko and Mai have been seen together since their mid-teens, although no one was able to get a clear picture of the prince and the photos remain unpublished.

The trio was seen photographed on the gold carpet before making their way into the event. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary outside of the venue. We have all seen the photos of the three walking out to their waiting car after the festivities, the Princess leading the other two in her party. They all looked a little bit frazzled, which is a picture saying a thousand words since the royals and their entourage, barring the absent Prince Zuko, typically are seen with a neutral mask.

Normally, this wouldn’t be anything to write home about. That is, until this morning where a now fired employee of the security company hired for surveillance at the ZBD afterparty leaked security footage of the showdown between the royal siblings.

As you can see in the CCTV footage below, the trio walks into the elevator with Princess Azula leading the way with a single bodyguard. As soon as the doors close, the princess turns on her brother, attacking him with a flurry of fists as Lady Mai watches on impassively. The bodyguard just manages to pull her off her brother as the door opens. The princess flips her hair and walks out of the elevator as if nothing happened. Prince Zuko and Lady Mai follow, as do their guard.

The question on everyone’s mind is, what happened? What made the princess snap on her brother like that? This was his first public appearance in over a decade, what could have gone wrong? Why was Mai silent? Unfortunately, due to the private nature of the royals, we’ll probably never know the true story.”


	2. Podcast #78: @Sokkarang

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sokka, son of Chief Hakoda of the Southern Water Tribe, is a guest on a podcast. The interviewer asks way too many questions.
> 
> Zutara Month Day 2: Counterpart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is literally all dialogue because...podcast. sorry if that's not your cup of tea

“Thanks again for stopping by, Sokka.”

A huff. “Yeah, buddy, thanks for having me.”

Lee whistles and sounds of him situating himself are audible. “So, how are things in the Southern Water Tribe?”

There is a pregnant pause. “You know,” Sokka starts, “that my _dad_ is the chief, not me, right? I don’t really have any insider knowledge of anything political. I’m just a college student, bro.”

“But you’re not just a college student! Not only are you the son of a politician who brushes elbows with the rich, famous, and royal, but you’re also an extremely popular streamer on Kickapow and a developer to boot. You’re really selling yourself short, bro!”

Sokka laughs. “Go on, go on, I do enjoy praise. Yeah man, I’m real proud of the work my dad does, but I don’t want him to define my entire existence, you know? I started streaming to entertain myself during my dad’s business trips when he took me and my sister along. She was tired of me annoying her while I was gaming so I found an audience who didn’t.” He laughs again.

“Sokka streams with the handle @Sokkarang, if any of you are interested in watching him play the new Escape from the Spirit World game.”

Lee’s guest makes a few noises with him mouth to imitate spirit magic. “I think it’s my best series yet.”

“So,” Lee starts hesistantly, “I heard a rumor that you’ve been friends with Prince Zuko since you were kids. Is that true?”

A chair creaks, and there is another pause. “Uh, yeah, kind of,” Sokka finally says, a question in his tone. “We met when I was still in high school. Not the same high school, obviously.”

“Yeah?” Lee asks, excitement lacing his tone. “What was that like?”

Sokka laughs unkindly. “Look man, I know what you’re trying to do, and it’s not gonna happen.”

Lee taps a pen against the desk. “I don’t know what you mean. We’re on a podcast, we’re talking.”

“Yeah, but you’re trying to dig for information on my buddy, and if he doesn’t want to talk to the press, I’m not going to act as his mouthpiece.”

“Sorry, sorry. It’s just, there’s not much out about him, and you’re one of the few people outside of the Fire Nation to know him personally and outside of a professional setting.”

Sokka huffs. “Politicians’ kids stick together, I guess. You could literally ask me about anyone else. I have a bunch of other friends with interesting stories.” There is a pause, and Sokka hums, then snaps his fingers. “Toph Beifong! She’s an open book. I have plenty of stories about Toph.”

“Like what?”

“Like Toph could destroy The Boulder in an arm-wrestling competition,” Sokka replies with a smile in his voice.

“Get the hell out of here!” Lee laughs. “Toph Beifong weighs 110 pounds soaking wet, there’s no way she can beat him!”

His guest laughs again, smug. “Don’t let her hear you say that. Just because she’s small and blind doesn’t mean she’s helpless. She’ll make sure you never forget it.”

“That’s crazy, man. No one even knew about Toph Beifong until like what? Two years ago? Maybe I should’ve asked her on this podcast.”

Sokka huffs a laugh. “Yeah, Toph is pretty great.”

“I hear she’s friends with your sister?”

Lee’s guest hums. “We’re all in the same friend group.”

“So you’re all friends with the Fire Nation siblings?”

“You don’t give up, do you?” Sokka asks, incredulously. He exhales. “Yeah, we’re all friends with Zuko. Azula has her own group of friends.”

“So Katara is friends with Prince Zuko?”

A pause. “Uh, yeah? I think I just implied that.”

Lee clears his throat. “Word around the internet is that she was the reason for the incident at the Diamond Ball.”

Sokka scoffs. “Yeah? Is that what you’ve heard?” Lee hums in affirmation. “I think you spend too much time on the internet, buddy.”

“Are you denying it because it’s true?”

There’s a laugh and a long pause. “Alright, I think I’ve said enough.” There is a clattering. When he speaks again, his voice is far away as though he removed his headset and stood up. “Keep my sister out of this,” he hisses, followed by the sound of a door closing.

The silence is thick.

“Alright guys, thanks for listening to the podcast. I guess that’s the end of this one.” Awkward laughter. “Follow me on all social media @LeefLife and if you want to follow Sokka he’s @Sokkarang on all platforms, including Kickapow. Goodnight, everyone.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> still un-beta'd
> 
> let me know what you think!

**Author's Note:**

> un-beta'd because yolo
> 
> let me know what you think!


End file.
